A refuse collector has explained why wheelie bins are often left halfway down the road after bin day, pointing to a simple mistake made by homeowners.
Ashley, a binman known as The No1 Binman on TikTok, has more than 200,000 followers on the platform, where he regularly shares advice from behind the wheel of a bin lorry. He said the issue often comes down to a missing house number on the bin lid.
“It's probably because you ain't got your number on your lid,” he explained. “No point putting it on the side cause you can't always see it. You want to be able to see it no matter where you're looking, you can always see the top of the bin.”
How to get your bin returned to your home
Adding a label to the lid with your house number or house name means binmen can tell which house each bin came from and return it without confusion. “Then the binmen will put your bin outside your house, as long as you have a good binman,” Ashley said.
Not everyone was convinced, however. One TikTok user commented: “My number is on the lid and it’s always 4 or 5 houses up the road. It not really an issue, I just collect it. Why are people so lazy, the extra steps will do us good.”
Another added: “Mine has always been on the front name and street, never had an issue.”
More advice from the binman
Ashley previously clarified that black bin bags should never be placed in recycling bins, warning that waste could be rejected. He said: “Put it all in loose. Do not put anything in a bag in your recycling bin because it has got a chance of being contaminated and they won't take it.”
He also explained how to dispose of used batteries and whether they can go in regular rubbish bins. He told the BBC: “Do not put vapes or batteries in any bin. You can take them to B&Q or the vape shop you bought them from, and they're meant to dispose of them themselves.”
Leaving batteries in bins for collection can pose a significant fire risk to refuse lorries. Ashley added: “I've had this before — and I'm not sure if it's a battery or a vape — the back of a lorry started smoking.”
